Theatre Company to Open with Original Piece “Transdition”

“Devised” play to center around themes of tradition and transition

Bethlehem, Pa., November 4, 2008—The Moravian College Theatre Company will open its 2008/2009 season with an original piece entitled Transdition. The production will run for five performances in the Arena Theater, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, November 13-15, at 8 p.m., with matinees on Saturday and Sunday, November 15-16, at 2 p.m.

Transdition is an original, devised theatre piece being created from scratch by the Moravian College Theatre Company around the themes of Tradition and Transition. The piece explores the creative process and incorporates original music composed by students from Moravian College’s own music department and ideas from all across the campus. The end product shows what happens when you put a bunch of college theatre students into a room with only their creative juices and the themes of Tradition and Transition to influence them.

“The goal of the project was to explore the collaborative creative process,” said director Christopher Shorr, who joined Moravian College this year as artistic director of the Moravian College Theatre Company, assistant professor of Theatre Arts, and advisor of the dramatic fraternity Alpha Psi Omega. “The group explored the themes of tradition and transition through discussion, brainstorming and interviews, and then we experimented with ways of expressing thoughts and ideas through sound, movement, and words. In the end, the piece is very much about the process itself. It incorporates video projections, live and recorded music, and dreams.”

Shorr comes to Moravian from Petersburg, Virginia, where he was the founding artistic director of Sycamore Rouge—a professional, non-equity theatre and performance venue. Primarily a stage director, Shorr has also worked as an actor, playwright, and composer for theatre, and his work has been seen Off Broadway, regionally, and internationally. In addition to his work as an artist and teacher, Shorr has been active in community-building and urban revitalization through the arts, serving on the boards of multiple non-profit organizations. Shorr received a B.A. from Drew University and a M.F.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University.

In joining the college’s community, Shorr says that he wants “…theatre at Moravian to build bridges. It should bridge the gap between different segments of our campus community, and between the college and the wider community of Bethlehem. It should also test boundaries. It should raise questions, stimulate discussion, and challenge preconceptions. Through it all, theatre at a liberal arts college needs to focus on the growth and development of the student participant. Our work should take our audiences and our artists on a journey that enriches them.”

General admission tickets are $15; senior citizens and students $12. Reduced rates are available for groups of 10 or more. The Arena Theater is located on the lower level of the Haupert Union Building on Moravian’s North Campus. For further information or ticket reservations, call 610-861-1489.

The Moravian College Theatre Company will present 3 additional productions this season. “Growing Up Naked: A Musical Comedy” about the ritual of adolescence by Richard M. Barbie will run from February 19 to 22, 2009. “Oedipus” by Seneca, translated and adapted by Ted Hughes will run April 2 – 5. “Student Directed One-Act Plays,” a sampler of short plays staged by Moravian’s young directors will run from April 23 to 26. For more information, visit: http://home.moravian.edu/public/eng/theatre/index.htm.

Moravian College is a private, coeducational, selective liberal arts college located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its founding to 1742, it is recognized as America's sixth-oldest college. Visit the Web site at www.moravian.edu.